The Last Hummingbirds Of Summer

You can really tell around here that Fall is nigh...the colors of the trees are starting to peer out from under the green, the air is cool and crisp, and now and then you'll see vast flocks of birds flying overhead, starting their journey south. Our barn swallows are long gone, alas, off to Argentina and presumably Argentinian barns. For a while, I thought all the hummingbirds had split as well...the ones at the nectaries were getting really fat, like flying ping-pong balls, and then they disappeared. Those little guys are really tough, and feisty too...they fight each other for territory, and the nectaries are prime real estate. All Summer you'd see little dogfights as hummingbirds would slam into each other in these tiny turf wars.

These guys are too fierce and independent to migrate in flocks (but just imagine if they did...a cloud of buzzing tiny birds), they go individually on an insane migration, first down to Louisiana, and pretty much non-stop from here in Michigan. That's why they feed so much before leaving...they double their body weight for the trip. Then, they feed up again down south before the final leg of the journey, ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE GULF OF MEXICO!!! That's like 500 miles over open water. Crazy. Then in the Spring they do it all again in reverse.

So I thought my hummingbird watching was over for the season. But just as I was getting ready to pack the feeders up, a new, slimmer bunch of birds started to show up. I've seen this here and down by my folks place too this year...apparently these are the younger, smaller hummers that were getting pushed away from the nectaries earlier. Now they're getting a chance to feed up, hopefully they can get ready before the cold weather hits. They seem to be making up for lost time!

I was out on my upstairs back porch, making a phone call to Cyn, leaning up by the bird feeders, when I heard a buzzing right by my ear...I turned and there was a tiny female ruby-throated hummer, totally ignoring me and taking full advantage of the nectar there, about 2 feet from my head. She and I hung out for quite a while together, and I got a chance to really observe her feeding from a vantage point I'd never had before. Amazing!! Hope that little one makes it safe across the Gulf to sunny Mexico, and back here again next year...

Out Of The Dark

The other day I went out for a walk...it sounds pretty pedestrian (sorry), but it's actually the first time I've voluntarily gone outside for a few weeks. Sounds crazy, but I think I've had the depressive equivalent of walking pneumonia for a while...I'm getting to work, and getting things done, and putting out the various fires that my life's been starting, but I was doing only what I had to, and then I'd collapse on the couch with a beer and sort of shut down. It's not that there hasn't been enough stuff happening to make me sad (my aunt's death and the death of an old friend in the space of 10 days, among other things) or stressed, but my reactions have been pretty typical of the way my metabolism works when I'm having a serotonin imbalance. I've dealt with this enough to recognise the symptoms, but of course when you're INSIDE it, it can be hard to realize. Apparently it's starting to recede, thank God. I've been getting out and working on the lawn, going to the gym, doing fun stuff that I kind of forgot how to do temporarily. Depression is really irritating...it sneaks up on you and flattens you, and doesn't have any really good dramatic symptoms like having blood spurt from your eyeballs or something that would at least get you a little sympathy from your friends!! Ah well...I guess I'm just hoping that this upswing will continue, and to help that along I'm gonna get out of this office and go out into the beautiful fall day and take another walk. Sounds good right now.